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How to Apply for Financial Aid

Unfortunately, we have exhausted all financial aid funds for Summer Studies in 2018.

Important dates

Event

Date

Financial aid application available

January 3

Program application available for 8th, 9th and 10th graders

January 22

Program application available for 7th graders

March 21

Overview

Our financial aid process includes the following steps:

Reviewing your financial aid application (PDF) and US tax documents

Assessing your expected financial contribution toward the program fee

Notifying you of your financial aid award based on available funds and your expected contribution

Things to know when applying for financial aid

We post the financial aid application approximately three weeks before program registration begins.

Both your financial aid and program applications must be submitted before we can consider you for placement.

We will only review your financial aid application if you are placed in a program, so financial aid requests do not affect your admissions decision.

We recommend you apply as early as possible to maximize your chance of receiving aid.

We only offer financial aid to families who file taxes in the United States.

Families who send multiple students to TIP programs in a single year are eligible to receive financial aid for each individual student; however, we are not able to provide any additional financial assistance beyond those awards.

You must submit a new financial aid application each year, even if you were awarded aid previously, so we can ensure that the amount you qualify for has not changed.

What you need

To complete the financial aid application, you will need your US federal tax returns and income documents, including:

a list of all people living in the student’s main household, related or not, and their age and total annual income

if applicable, the amount of Social Security; SSI payments; child support payments; unemployment compensation; welfare, TANF, or other public assistance; military assistance; untaxed disability, retirement, etc.

a copy of your 2017 federal income tax (Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ), along with these forms and schedules that you submit with your return: Schedules A, C, F, D, E; W-2 forms; form 4562 (forms printed from electronic filings are acceptable)

a profit-and-loss statement if you own your own business and have not filed your taxes yet

If your 2017 tax return has not been prepared, send a complete copy of your 2016 tax return and one of the following:

your 2017 year-end pay stub, if you are applying before February 1

your 2017 W-2 forms, if you are applying after February 1

your estimated 2017 profit-and-loss statement if you are self-employed.

If you are not required to file a tax return because your income level falls below the IRS filing threshold, you must still complete the financial aid application. However, you can simply note on it that you are not required to file a federal tax return and submit copies of whatever documentation you have for the income you do receive. For instance, you could submit an annual Social Security award amount letter, SSN-1099, unemployment or disability income award letters, or public assistance qualification notification letters.

Tax credits

Many families wonder if they qualify for the Child and Dependent Care tax credit when their child attends TIP. Unfortunately, the IRS has stated that the cost of sending a child to an overnight camp is not covered, so any residential TIP program is not eligible for this credit.

529 college plan funds

Please speak with your accountant before utilizing your 529 plan funds to pay for TIP programs. TIP does not believe the 529 college plan funds qualify for this usage because with this plan you are expected to be enrolled at the university and the payments are for tuition-related expenses. Duke TIP students are not enrolled in Duke University and are paying a program fee, not college tuition, so the required tuition payment statement (1098 T) required by the IRS cannot be produced by the university or Duke TIP.

Summer Studies is a three-week residential program for high-achieving young scholars in grades seven through ten. Taking place at thirteen college campuses across the country over two different summer sessions, the programs provide the social and intellectual stimulus that gifted students need.

To contact us about account or program questions, please call one of our customer service representatives:Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m ET at (919) 668-9100.